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Sheba Piano Lounge : A User’s Guide
Ethiopian Cuisine | Live Music | Ethiopian-Inspired Cocktails | Imported Spices | Native Ethiopian Chef
Sample Menu
In the lounge: meatballs topped in blue cheese
In the dining room: tibs wat—sauteed prime beef simmered in berbere sauce and Ethiopian butter
Cocktail: Red Sea—a bloody mary made with Ethiopian spices
Dessert: warm cheesecake brownie
The Vibe: The dividing wall inside Sheba Lounge looks like it came from a church, and for good reason—it’s a replica of the one in the Church of St. George, an Ethiopian Orthodox church carved out of rock in Lalibela. The rest of the space surrounds diners in warm, tropical tones.
Who’s Cooking: Owner and chef Netsanet Alemayehu started cooking in her native Harar, Ethiopia when she was just nine years old. Today, Ms. Alemayehu still relies on Ethiopian recipes and techniques. In fact, she has fresh spices, sauces, and other ingredients shipped in from relatives who still live in Harar.
When to Go: When the restaurant hosts live music, which begins at 8 p.m. Sunday–Thursday, and 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The setlists range from Afro-Cuban jazz to classical violin.
Inside Tip
Don’t look for a fork. Most patrons eat with their hands, in the traditional Ethiopian style.
Press and Praise
In 2009, San Francisco Chronicle profiled Netsanet Alemayehu's career and background.
SF Weekly's Tamara Palmer said, "[w]e expected good food, but what we didn't expect was the design of the space, which we think is among the most interesting on all of Fillmore Street."
Vocab Lesson
Injera: a flatbread made with fermented batter that's central to many Ethiopian dishes. Traditionally, diners break off small pieces and use it to scoop up mouthfuls of food.
Berbere: the signature spice mixture in Ethiopian food; it combines about a dozen spices including clove, cinnamon, paprika, cumin, and red chilies.
While You’re in the Neighborhood
Before: Browse imported Japanese incenses and essential oils at Kohshi (1737 Post St).
After: Order a hard-to-find beer at Speakeasy Ales & Lagers (1195 Evans Ave)
If You Can’t Make It, Try This
The Ethiopian cuisine at Assab Eritrean Restaurant (2845 Geary Blvd)

Dogpatch Saloon: A User’s Guide
Dog-Friendly Bar | Seasonal Cocktails | Craft Beer | Extensive Liquor Selection | Occasional Live Music
Sample Drinks
Spirit: Whipnose Whiskey
Beer: Pac Brew Lab's Whipnose IPA
Cocktail: Zapoteca—roasted-fennel-infused mezcal, lemon juice, agave nectar, and sparkling wine
By the Numbers
1912—the year the saloon opened
12 craft cocktails
10 beers on tap
Nearly infinite number of spirits
A Bar Reborn: In 2013, new owners took over Dogpatch Saloon, and they remodeled from floor to ceiling. They also added decor elements that echo the city’s industrial roots, namely an old Muni track—made by Bethlehem Steel—that now serves as the bar’s rail. They left a couple of the old bar’s elements, including the brass bell used for last call and the familiar stained-glass window that welcomes patrons inside.
While You’re Waiting: Listen to owner and bartender Marc Goldfine. He’s a trained voice actor, and his resonate tones carry throughout the bar and directly into his patrons’ hearts.
Inside Tips
Bring a furry friend. True to its name, the bar welcomes dogs.
Follow Dogpatch on Twitter to stay up-to-date on new beers, drinks, and spirits.
Praise
Eater included Dogpatch Saloon on their list of SF Bartenders' Favorite Spots to Drink.
After the remodel, Thrillist called this “the best bar on the right side of San Francisco.”
While You’re in the Neighborhood: Try the fried chicken at Hard Knox Cafe (2526 3rd Street).
If You Can’t Make It, Try This: 83 Proof (83 1st Street), the owners’ other bar.

Sample Menu
Appetizer: catfish nuggets spiked with jalapeño tartar sauce
Soup: New Orleans–style gumbo swimming with chicken, tiger shrimp, sausage, and veggies
Entree: creole jambalaya (available in both meat and vegetarian versions)
Side: those famous buttermilk biscuits
Headliners: Catch local and national acts including Earl Thomas, a blues singer-songwriter whose compositions have been covered by Etta James and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, riveting soul singer Terrie Odabi, and retro Kansas City–style blues band Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers.
Inside Tips
Want to eat dinner while watching the show? You can do that any night of the week.
Ate before you arrived? You can catch a dinner-free show Sunday through Thursday or during the 10 p.m. cocktail show on Fridays and Saturdays.
Know an 11-year-old blues enthusiast? Send them here—there’s no age limit.
Press Box
Travel + Leisure named Biscuits and Blues to its list of Where to Hear the Blues in San Francisco
Zagat included it on its list of Best Blues Bars in SF
SF Weekly says “there isn’t a bad seat in the house”
While You’re in the Neighborhood
Before: Work up an appetite by window shopping at Union Square.
After: Grab a nightcap at Bartlett Hall (242 O’Farrell Street), where bartenders pour local craft beers and specialty cocktails like the 49ers Gold Rush—bonded bourbon, lemon, honey syrup, and Fernet Branca.

The Lexington Club
Dancing is a given at The Lexington Club, where members of the lesbian and queer community have been partying for 16 years. But while beats are assured, it's often tough to predict what musical decade you'll be grooving to. Themed DJ nights pull together songs from the 50s through today's top 40 listings, covering pop, disco, slow jams, and songs by LGBT artists. Regardless of the tunes being played within, the small bar's ambiance remains one of rollicking hospitality. Red walls and tasseled chandeliers surround patrons as they mingle or compete in games of pool, which are free on Mondays. Other regular events include sake-bomb Wednesdays and trivia, held on the third and seventh Tuesday of the month. The Lexington Club stays open until 2 a.m. every night, and the staff typically abstains from charging a cover fee.

In Focus: Cafe Claude
Type of cuisine: French.
Number of locations: two—one Downtown location and one Marina location
Number of menus: also two; each location has its own distinct menu
French staples: cheese, wine, and charcuterie, which are served at both locations
Legendary tale: Rumor has it that the owner built the Downtown location using pieces of masonry imported from Le Barbizon cafe in Paris.
Complimentary airfare to France: not included. The downtown eatery offers the next best thing, though—a secluded location on a romantic little alleyway that looks and feels like it was plucked straight from Paris.
Easiest way to find the Marina location: Look for the red awning, red windows, and red roof.

In 1997, legendary blues musician John Lee Hooker opened the Boom Boom Room—a Fillmore Street blues bar named for one of his hits. From then until his death in 2001, Hooker not only populated the stage with the masters of his art, but regularly played his own shows in the sultry, scarlet colored lounge. Nowadays the music is more varied—the walls reverberate with soul, funk, drum 'n bass, new wave, and electronica—but it remains what Frommer's calls "a fun, dark, small, cramped, and steamy joint where you can hear good live tunes." The travel guide recommends stopping by after seeing a show at the Fillmore, as the club stays open until 2 am.